NIWA uses virtual microscope to strengthen NZ's biosecurity

NIWA scientists are pioneering a new way
of tapping into international expertise through an online
specimen identification service of particular benefit to New
Zealand’s biosecurity.

NIWA’s marine taxonomists
identify and describe a wide range of organisms that are
found in our coastal and oceanic waters, supplementing their
expertise by maintaining strong connections with a network
of overseas taxonomists who can help identify unusual or
unidentifiable species.

Sometimes such unusual organisms
are discovered during surveys for marine pests. Previously
these have had to be sent to the overseas experts to
determine their identity and, therefore, the risk to New
Zealand. This is costly, time-consuming and can result in
lost or damaged specimens or hold-ups due to regulatory
issues.

However, following a trial of an online
microscope, marine biologists at NIWA’s Wellington base
are now offering a real-time identification service.

The
service is primarily being used by the Marine Invasives
Taxonomic Service, a centralised marine biosecurity
identification programme operated by NIWA for the Ministry
for Primary Industries.

NIWA’s Programme Leader for
marine biosecurity, Graeme Inglis, says the system enables
NIWA scientists to link up with other specialists around the
world in real time to enable more rapid decision-making
about managing potential risks.

“One of the issues we
face is the diminishing number of taxonomic specialists
around the world so there is a need to strengthen those
networks. We need to ensure we retain the ability to tap
into this expertise that underpins important decisions about
New Zealand’s biodiversity and biosecurity.

“So now,
if we get a strange looking creature we can ask a specialist
anywhere to look at it by putting it in front of the online
microscope. That way we get a tentative idea of what we’re
looking at immediately and then a more comprehensive answer
within a few hours,” he says.

Specimens sent to
Australia for identification typically take between five and
seven days, and even in New Zealand sample deliveries can
take three to four days between cities. Virtual
identification using the online microscope can be obtained
within one to two days with significant cost savings, Dr
Inglis says.

It works by experts anywhere in the world
viewing the image while communicating with the microscope
operator via Skype. The specimen can be manipulated to show
important diagnostic characteristics to the expert and
photographs can be taken at any time by either
user.

“It’s not ideal for everything as some things
need to be dissected or inspected more closely but it is an
important new tool for us,” Dr Inglis says.

As well as
being used to identify potential biosecurity risks, the
microscope also has a number of other benefits, including
the ability to be used for training people in remote
locations.

NIWA also holds the largest collection of
non-indigenous marine organisms in New Zealand and the NIWA
Invertebrate Collection (NIC) – officially classified as a
Nationally Significant Collection and Database – which
houses several million specimens, and a large proportion of
known New Zealand marine invertebrate species, collected
over five decades of research in the New Zealand region, the
southwestern Pacific and the Ross Sea.. The microscope
facility offers scientists and biosecurity experts the
opportunity to access these collections remotely for
referencing.

Dr Inglis says the next step in the project
is to make the system mobile so it can be used in the field
for urgent identifications. For example, inspections of
biofouling on vessels often require fast turn-around times
to prevent costly
delays.

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